Machine for stuffing horse-collars.



J. B. GATHRIGHT.

MACHINE FOR STUFFING HORSE COLLARS.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT- 3 I910.

Patented Jan. 11,1916.

2 SHEETSSHEET I.

COLUMBIA I'LANUURAI'H C(L,WAS1I|NGTON, 0. c4

J. B. GATHRlGHT.

Patented Jan. 11, 1916.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH {ILL/WASHINGTON, D. c. Q

llhllTD ATE JOSIAH B. GATHRIGHT, OF LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY.

MACHINE FOR STUFFING I-IORSE-COLLARS.

Application filed September 3, 1.910.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSIAH l3. GATHRIGHT,

a citizen of the United States, residing at Louisville, in the county of Jefferson and State of Kentucky, have invented new and useful Improvements in Machines for Stuffing Horse-Collars, of which the following is a specification. This invention relates to certain improvements in machines for stutling horse collars and analogous things and consists in the features and combinations hereinafter set forth and definitely claimed.

Qne of the important purposes of the invention is to provide stuliing machine having a container and a stuffing rod, with a means whereby long tangled straw or other fibrous material of like kind will be supplied to the stuffing rod in such condition that it will be effectively taken up by the latter and fed from the container into the casing for which it is to serve as a stulling material.

Another of the important purposes of the invention is to provide a stuliing machine wherein the means which supplies the material to the stufling rod will most effectively deliver said material to said rod in the best possible condition for use and at the same time will in no wise interfere with the placing of said material in the container.

A further purpose of the invention is to provide means whereby the weight member which is commonly employed in these machines for pressing the material upon the stufiing rod may be most easily removed from the container and accurately and readily replaced therein, preparatory to and after the container has been supplied with material, respectively, and whereby said weight member when removed from the container is made to aid in the operation of refilling.

These and other objects of the invention, which will be hereinafter appear, are obtained from the constructions illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure l is an elevation of a desirable form of machine embodying the present means, with a part of the container broken away to disclose the elements therein and certain of the parts shown in section. In this view the weight is shown in unbroken and'broken lines, respectively, in different positions which it occupies in the use of the machine, the position shown in unbroken Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. it, 1316.

Serial El'o. 580,355.

' uters, different from those illustrated in the preceding figures.

The present invention comprises, among its features, a container A, of suitable construction and arrangement, having suitable means whereby long tangled straw or like fibrous material may be fed therefrom, these means including distributing elements, as arms B and a. press er member C, which are mounted to rotate within and upon the body of material, respectively, and act cooperatively to supply such material, etliciently and in the best possible condition for its use, to a feeder, as D, which forces the material from the container. The distributing ele ments B are mounted to rotate close to but not in contact with the inner wall of the container, whereby they do not materially interfere with the filling of the container and at the same time a suliicient length of material will be presented for them effectively to accomplish one of their principal purposes, which is to stir the material and present it to the feeder D in such condition that the latter can easily force a proper quantity thereof at each feeding movement, without rupturing or breaking the material, notwithstanding that the body of the material is under pressure. These distributing elements preferably also serve as the means by which rotative movement is imparted to the presser element (1. This presser element, in the herein-exemplified form of the invention, is mounted for movement longitudinally of and within the container and outwardly away from the end of the container. It is also arranged for rotative movement within the container. Its movement longitudinally of the container obviously enables it to press the material upon the feeder and also enables it to be withdrawn from the container when it is desired to supply the latter with straw. Its movement outward from the container is so restricted and controlled, preferably by the means hereinafter described, that when fully opened it will facilitate the refilling of the container by the attendant and will be accurately returned to its place without the necessity of the exercise of any special care by the attendant. The means herein exemplified for this purpose comprises a bar E arranged across the end of the container in the path of outward movement of the presser element, and having a pivot so disposed that it will. permit the presser element to be moved to a position in which it stands clear of the container, shown by dotted lines in Fig. 1, and will accurately guide the presser element into its operative position in the container, the bar and presser elementbeing so connected that they will move substantially as one in the movements of the latter which are outside of the container.

In the accompanying drawings the hereinrecited features of the invention are shown as embodied in their most desirable forms in an apparatus particularly intended to stuff horse collars with long straw, or like fibrous material. In this illustrated embodiment of the invention the container A is shown as a vertically mounted hopper, and the presser element G as a weight which is moved downward in the hopper by gravity.

Referring now to the illustrated embodiments of the invention, the hopper A is shown as mounted, as usual, upon a supporting frame F of ordinary construction, provided with a driving shaft 10 which receives motion from a suitable source of power, not illustrated, communicated to a pulley 11 which is mounted on said shaft and in practice is provided with a clutch mechanism connected with the treadle, not necessary to be shown herein as they are common in this class of machinery. Fixed on the shaft 10 is a crank 12 which is connected by a pitman 13 with the stufiing rod D and serves to reciprocate said stuliing red, as heretofore. This stu'lling rod is shown as being of awellknown form, having its upper surface serrated to form upwardly extending teeth 14 which grasp the straw and force the same from the lower end of the hopper A to a conduit 15 which is suitably connected with the collar-casing. The hopper is shown as formed of a heavy base 16 having a channel 17 within which the stufling rod D reciprocates, and a body 18 of lighter metal reinforced at the top by a band 19. The body 18 is preferably provided with a door 20 arranged contiguous to the base 16, for giving convenient access to its interior, at the bottom, for cleaning and other purposes.

Rotatably mounted upon the open end of the hopper is a ring 21. The stirrer arms 13 have their upper ends suitably secured to this ring, and are disposed lengthwise of the hopper and in such relation to the latter that their path of trcvel will be at a slight distance from the inner wall thereof. In the herein-exemplified embodiments of the invention the reinforcing band 19 extends beyond the end of the body 18 of the hopper and the ring 21 is provided between its ends with a shoulder 22 which rests upon the upper surface of the band 19, while the lower end of the ring rests upon the outer edge of the body 18. This provides a convenient and satisfactory way whereby the-ring 21 is guided in its rotative movements. The weight C is shown as being suspended from a cord or cable 23 to which it is swiveled at 24. This cord or cable extends over an idler pulley having a suitable support, such as will be afforded by the ceiling of the room containing the machine,'for example, and the end of the cord remote from the one connected to the weight is provided with a counter-weight 26, as usual. This permits the weight to have rotative movement as well as to move longitudinally of the hopper. For the purpose of giving such rotative movement to the weight it is preferably provided at suitable places with outstanding pins or projections 27 which are disposed in the path of movement of the arms B. The rotative movement of the weight in frictional contact with the body of material obviously imparts like movement to said material, and thereby substantially aids the stirrers B in the operation of distributing the material. Two different means for rotating the ring 21 are shown in the accompanying drawings. In the form shown in Fig. 1 a flexible belt 23, preferably round, is driven by a pulley 29 on the driving shaft 10 and extends around the ring 21 in a groove 30 formed in the latter. It is suitably guided. The guiding means shown are of a most desirable character and comprise a divided flanged spool, or idler pulleys 3'2 and idler pulleys 33, 34- and 35. The pulleys 32 are shown as mounted to rotate on a horizontal axis between the pulley 29 and the idlers 33 and 34, and said idlers 33 and 34- are shown as mounted to rotate on vertical axes between said pulleys 32 and the hopper, while the idler 35 is shown as mounted to rotate on a vertical axis at the side of the hopper diametrically opposite the pulley and the before mentioned idlers. To prevent a binding effect upon the ring 21, the idler 35 i.. mounted upon a bracket 36, preferably secured to the reinforcing band 19, whereby the ring 21 is relieved of the stress which would otherwise come upon it at this point and thus receives easier and steadier movement. The pulleys 32 and the idlers 33 and are preferably carried by a bracket 37 also preferably secured to the band 19.

In the form exemplified in Fig. 3 the peripheral surface of the ring marked 121 is shown as formed to provide a beveled gear 122 which meshes with a bevel pinion 1'23 mounted on one end of the shaft 12d whose other end is provided with a bevel pinion 125 intermeshed with a gear 126 fixed on the driving shaft marked 110. It is apparent that other than this specific form of driving connection may be employed when internieshing gears are preferred to the rope or belt drive exemplified by the first described form. It is also apparent that other rope or belt drives than the one specifically described may be employed, although I consider the one herein illustrated as being highly advantageous for the purpose indicated.

The bar E is provided with an idler 38 which engages the cable or rope 23 and with an aperture through which the latter ex tends to the weight. This bar extends across the open end of the hopper and preferably is so supported that it will not interfere with free rotative movement of the ring 21. In Fig. 1 it .is shown as being provided at one end with a depending projection 38 which rests upon the bracket 37 and sustains the weight of the bar at this place. Its other end is provided with an upwardly extending projection 40 and the hopper is shown as being provided with a portion -11 extending upward from the bracket 36, said portion having upwardly and outwardly extending ea rs 41 which are arranged on opposite sides of the projection d0. A pivot 39 for the bar E is carried by these ears and extends through the projection 40. By the means illustrated the bar swings to a position wherein it is not only free to move from the open end of the hopper but also permits the weight member C to be swung into position substantially clear of said end, the pivot 39 of the bar being slightly above the plane of the bar at level position, so that it swings outwardly slightly, to bring the weight straight up out of the hopper and prevent dropping against the side of the hopper adjacent to which the pivot is located. Moreover the pivotal mountin of the bar E is of a substantial character and such that the bar will have a bearing at the pivot point of such length as to'ca-use it to swing accurately, whereby the weight will be promptly and accurately returned to the hopper without the exercise of any special care or effort by the operator. It will be noted that when the weight member C has been raised in the hopper to the open end of the latter it engages the bar E and said bar E then is caused to swing upon its pivot, causing the weight C similarly to swing with said pivot as the axis of its movement. When the weight has reached the position indicated by dotted lines in Fig. l, the hopper may be considered to be in fully open condition. This position of the weight is such that it is out of the way of the operator in putting in straw from the opposite side of the hopper and moreover facilitates the operation of refilling the hopper by forming a barrier to the straw passing over and beyond the latter and an actual guide to the straw into the hopper.

V In practice the weight C must be heavier than the counterweight 26 to an amount according with the pressure desired on the straw in the hopper. In ordinary practice in these machines, as heretofore constructed, the. rope or cable 23 sustains the entire weight of the member C and hence must be secured in some way to hold the latter in suspension when in its elevated position. It will be noted that in the present machine a large part of the weight of the member C is transferred to the bracket 36 when said member" has been elevated. Hence the counter-weight 26 is ample to retain the member in this position. Preferably, the length of the rope or cable 28 is adjusted so that the counter-weight 26 will touch a suitable stop, as the floor for example, when the weight member has reached the desired elevation. By this means the operator need only pull upon the rope or cable 26 until the counter-weight touches the stop, in the operation of opening the hopper and, in the operation of closing the hopper, need only lift the counter-weight by the rope or cable and ease the weight member G into the hopper.

From the foregoing the purposes, advantages and operation of the present invention will be seen and it will be understood that while the details of the herein illustrated embodiments of the invention have peculiar advantages and therefore are made the sub ject matter of claims more and less re stricted thereto, yet these embodiments exemplify broad features having important advantages and which may be embodied in apparently widely different forms of construction without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the subjoined claims.

Having now described the invention what I believe to be new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. In a stufling machine, a container hav ing an outlet, a stuffing rod mounted to reciprocate across the container and in operativc relation with said outlet, distributing arms and a carrier for said arms, the carrier 2 being movably mounted on and supported by the end of the container remote from the stuffing rod and the distributing arms being spaced from each other and arranged near to the inner wall of the container and eX- tending longitudinally of the latter and terminating near the portion of the container across which the stufling rod reciprocates.

2. In a stuffing machine, a container having an outlet, a stuffing rod in operative relation with said outlet, and means for supplying the material to said stufiing rod, com.- prising stirrer or distributing arms and a presser, said arms being mounted to rotate within the container and the presser being mounted to move longitudinally of the container and relatively to the distributing arms, toward the outlet, as the material is ejected through said outlet.

8. In a stufling machine, a container having an outlet, a stuffing rod in operative relation with said outlet, and means for supplying the material to said stuffing rod, comprising a presser element in the container, said presser element being arranged to move longitudinally of the container and to force the material toward said outlet, and means for rotating said presser element.

1. In a stufiing machine, a container having an outlet, a stufling rod in operative relation with the outlet, and means for supplying the material to the outlet, comprising distributing arms, a presser element, and means for rotating said arms and presser element in the container, said presser element having movement relative to the arms in the direction of the length of the container.

I 5. In a stu'ffing machine, a container having an outlet, a stufling rod in operative relation with the outlet, and means for supplying the material to the outlet, co1nprising distributing arms, a rotatable ring which carries said arms and is mounted at the end of the container remote from the stuffing rod, and a presser element movable in the container in the direction of the length of the latter and also rotatably, said element having means which are engaged by said arms and transmit the rotative movement of the latter thereto, said means adapted to permit the presser element to move relatively to the arms in the direction of the length or the container.

6. In a stufiing machine, a container having an outlet at its bottom, a stufling rod which reciprocates across the bottom of the container and in operative relation with the outlet, a ring mounted to be revolved about the open top of the container, and stirring or distributing arms connected with the ring and terminating near the bottom of the hopper.

7. In a stufiing machine, a container having an outlet, a stufling rod in operative relation with said outlet, a weight suspended in said container and adapted to turn therein and free to move in the direction of the length thereof, and means for turning said weight. I

8. In a stufling machine, a container having an outlet, a stufling rod in operative relation with said. outlet, stirrer or distributing arms and a weight in said container, said weight being free to move in the direction of the length of the container, and means for rotating the weight and arms.

9. In a stufiing machine, a container having an outlet, a stuliing rod in operative relation with said outlet, stirring or distributing arms and a weight in said container, said Weight being engaged by the arms and free to move relatively thereto in the direction of the length of the container, a ring connected to said arms and rotatably mounted on said container, and means for rotatingsaid ring to thereby rotate the arms and weight.

10. In acollar stufiing machine, a container having an outlet, a stuffing rod in operative relation with the outlet, a presser member movable longitudinally ofthe container and outwardly away from the container, a pivoted member in the path of outward movement of the pressed member, and means connected to the presser member for imparting movement thereto, the said means, presser member and pivoted member being mutually arranged to cause the presser and pivoted members to be turned together pivotally into open position when the presser member reaches the end of the container. I

11. In acollar stufling machine, a container having an outlet, a stutling rod in operative relation with the outlet, a presser member movable longitudinally of the container and outwardly away from the container, a pivoted member in the path of outward movement of the presser member, means connected to the presser member for imparting movement thereto, the said means, presser member and pivoted member being mutually arranged to cause the presser and pivoted members to be turned together pivotally into open position when the presser member reaches the end of the container, and means for arresting the movement of the means for imparting movement to the presser member when the latter has reached a predetermined position above the container. 7

12.- In a collar stuliing machine, a container having an outlet, a'stufiing rod in operative relation with the outlet, a bar pivotally mounted at the top of the container and extending across the same, a weight, and means for suspending the weight in the container and moving it longitudinally thereof and outwardly therefrom: the said means, the bar and the weight being mutually arranged to cause the weight and bar to be turned together pivotally above the container and the bar to guide the weight to its position in the container.

13. In a stufling machine, a container having an outlet, a stufling rod in operative relation with the outlet, a weight, suspended in the container and arranged for movement longitudinally of the container and outwardly away from the end of the same, a counterweighted flexible means from which the weight is suspended, andabar pivotally mounted at the top of the container in the path of outward movement of the weight from the latter and having an aperture through which said flexible means extends, said bar being adapted to cause the weight to turn pivotally above the top of the container and also to guide the weight to its position in the container.

14. In a stuffing machine, a container having an outlet, a stuffing rod in operative relation with the outlet, a weight suspended in the container and arranged for movement longitudinally of the container and outwardly away from the end of the same, a counterweighted flexible means from which the weight is suspended said weight having a swivel connection with the flexible means, a pivotally mounted bar having an aperture through which said flexible means extends, said bar being disposed across the path of outward movement of the weight, rotatably mounted distributing arms, and connections between said arms and weight, adapted to cause the weight to turn and to permit it to move relatively to the arms, from and into the container and within the latter in the direction of the length thereof.

15. In a stufling machine, a container having an outlet, a stufiing rod in operative relation with the outlet, distributing arms in the container, a ring rotatably mounted on said container and having a groove, said ring being connected to said arms, a driving shaft, a belt driven by said shaft and engaging the groove in the ring, and idlers arranged adjacent to the ring and engaged by the belt.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOSIAH B. GATHRIGHT.

\Vitnesses H. H. HALLMAN, CHAS. M. WOODS.

Copies 0! this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

' Washington, D. C. 

